Page 133 of Begin Again, Part 2

"Bye-bye, be good!" Aiden called after them.

"You be good Kool-Aid, don't give Brenda a hard time." Liam waved back.

The moment the door shut behind them, their son screamed his head off.

"How can we just leave him when he's crying so much?" Liam asked, visibly distraught as he looked at the door.

Eden pulled him along. "He'll be fine, but you won't be if you're not prepared for your first meeting."

"I don't like hearing him cry like that," Liam said and tried to head back inside.

She held on tight and dragged him along, assuring him as they stepped inside the elevator, and it whisked them to the ground floor, "He's a baby. He cries when his parents leave. But in five minutes, he won't even care we're gone. I used to go through this all the time."

"Okay," he relented, but didn't look convinced as he pushed her inside the car.

"Good morning, missus." James turned around in his seat with a smile.

"Is the little one feeling better?" Stephen asked.

Eden assured them Aiden was doing well, but the biggest baby was sitting beside her since he couldn't bear to part with his son this morning.

Both men were fathers themselves, with a wealth of experience. So while she went through the agenda items for her first meeting with the marketing and brand teams, they gave Liam advice on dealing with separation anxiety.

Before Eden knew it, they were at Anderson Logistics, and if she was honest, driving into work with Liam felt strange. But not as weird as the looks they got when they walked into the building. Of course, she could just be paranoid. After all, overthinking was her superpower. But, when she stopped at Ted and Jim's post for their daily check-in, they didn't chat with her like they normally did. Instead, they gave her a quick wave and the briefest of smiles and sent her off, promising to catch up with her over lunch one of the days.

The five Sandys at reception hadn't warmed to her fully. But lately, they'd begun to greet her. Sometimes, when they felt super nice, they'd even smile at her. Today there were no greetings and certainly no smiles. There were lots of side-eyes, though, when Liam scanned his access card and pushed her through the turnstiles, his hand lingering a little too long on the small of her back.

"They know," Eden said in a voice meant only for his ears.

"Who knows what?" Liam asked as he checked his emails on his phone.

"The five Sandys," she whispered, throwing a wary look over her shoulder. "Everyone knows."

Even the janitors knew. Why else would they stare at them like animals at a zoo?

"I need a little more than that," Liam said, slipping his phone inside his suit jacket. "At the very least, stop speaking in code because I don't understand a word you've said."

"They know I woke up in your bed this morning. And that photo in the tabloids...they know it's me." Eden followed him to the private elevator, sticking to the personal space guidelines outlined in the HR manual. The last thing she wanted was rumours to start swirling again. She only had one month left—two at most—at Anderson Logistics. But for the remainder of her time here, she was happy to keep their situationship under wraps.

"So what if they know? I love you, and you love me. We aren't hurting anyone, and we did nothing wrong."

"But they all think I'm a drunk who can't handle her alcohol," Eden said, unable to believe the charity benefit was just three days ago. A lot had happened in the past 72 hours. She didn't even know if she was coming or going. She wouldn't even be surprised if some has-been producer offered to shoot a reality show based on her messy life.

"The elevator's out." Liam pointed at the maintenance message on the floor display panel.

"I'll take the stairs," Eden decided quickly, but he pulled her back before she could dash for the emergency exit.

"Stop running. Everyone will find out soon anyway." Liam said, taking her hand in his as they waited for one of the public elevators.

Eden gave him a blank stare. She had no idea why anyone would find out about their relationship if they both kept their mouths shut and acted like the professionals she knew they were.

"The press release for our engagement party is going out in a few days," Liam cleared up her confusion.

"But you said you'd stall it."

"I said I'll stall the wedding, Princess," Liam corrected her. "We'll go along with the party to appease the board and get ahead of the news cycle when the tabloids find out about Aiden."

"I don't under—" The doors slid open before Eden could tell him she didn't understand why every little thing affected share prices and the company's profits.

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